quite reasonable implications and the casual approach
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: Ten/Rose, set after New Earth. Rose questions the Doctor about something that happened during their time in the hospital.


"You puckered up," she said bravely, desperate to tease him but folding her arms in preparation for his no doubt defensive stance on her comment.

"I what?"

"When Cassandra was in my body, and she grabbed you by your hair and forced you into that kiss. Only, she didn't really force you into it, did she?" She unfolded one of her arms to poke him in the chest. "'Cos you leant in and puckered up."

The Doctor stared at her, his eyebrows raised. "I don't know what you're talking about," he sniffed. "I was just as surprised as you were."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, but her lips soon twitched into a smirk. "Liar. I might not have been in the driving seat but I still remember every second of it."

"Rose - "

"No, come on, admit it."

He swallowed hard.

"It was bloody embarrassing, you thinking I would just throw myself at you like that, her being in control and me being helpless to stop it. So the least you can do is share in my mortification for me by admitting that you got caught up in that kiss."

"I'm really sorry that your control was taken away like that. It wasn't right, and - "

"It's okay, it's not your fault. Now admit that you kissed back."

"No, I - I could tell something was wrong, that you weren't acting like yourself - "

"But you still kissed me back. Well, Cassandra. But you thought it was me. You thought you were kissing me back. Go on, say it."

"Rose, that's enough."

"What?" She barked out a laugh. "No, no way. You don't get to 'Rose, that's enough' me, you're not my mum. Or my teacher. Or whatever." She tilted her head, then, thinking about what it would've been like at school if he _had _been her teacher. She had a feeling she wouldn't have bunked off quite so much. Maybe she would've got in just as much trouble, though.

He turned around, busied himself with the console controls. "Sorry. But just - leave it, yeah?"

"Why?" she persisted. "Doctor, what? Why are you - I was only having a laugh."

"Well, don't."

"What's got into you?" Rose wanted to know. "If it were the other way around, you'd be teasing me about it - "

"No I wouldn't."

"- in fact, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the 'foxy' thing yet."

The Doctor paused, and turned around, a curious look in his eyes. "That - wait. She was…telling the truth?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. It's sort of hard to not notice. Anyway, you know that. You know how good-looking you are; your vanity knows no bounds when it comes to your hair."

"But I didn't think - " He closed his mouth with a click. Then, his lips twitching, he decided to turn the tables, unsettle her for a bit instead. if she was gonna tease him, he was most certainly gonna tease her right back. "You know what I'd rather talk about."

"What's that?"

"Flying down that lift shaft with you wrapped around me," he winked.

"What about it?"

"Well, think about it. Have we ever been in a position where we were that closely entwined before?" he asked, enunciating certain words with relish.

She stared at him. "Doctor."

"Yeah?"

"You know that I'm not the one you're embarrassing by saying that, right?"

"What?"

"Well, you're the one who sounds very preoccupied with cataloguing exactly how it felt to have my limbs wrapped around you…"

The Doctor opened his mouth to retort with something witty, but then his smile slid off his face. "Oh. Oh, bugger."

Rose laughed. "So, let's add this up. You were the one who kissed back. You were the one who didn't realise it wasn't me straight away. And you were the one enjoying having my body all pressed up nice and close, even though it wasn't actually me."

"I…Rose, you are twisting things to make it sound like I - like I - "

"Like you what?" she smirked.

"Like I would just…objectify you like that when really, all I was thinking about today was your safety."

"Right, yeah, course," she said solemnly, pressing her lips together and nodding her head.

"Rose," he sighed.

""'I want that body safe, Cassandra!'" she mimicked. "Really, I'm flattered."

"Stop it."

"What?" she giggled.

"You're gonna go around thinking that I have some sort of human crush on you or something," he huffed, sitting down sulkily in the jumpseat.

"What, and you don't?" she persisted, nudging his arm with her shoulder as she sat down next to him. "It's okay, Doctor. I understand that having a near-death experience might've shorted out a few circuits in that old brain of yours."

"Near-death experience?"

"When you had to regenerate," she clarified. "Not that I want to make jokes about that," she added, frowning. "Yeah, just ignore - "

"You think that I fancy you because I regenerated?" he asked, his eyebrows drawn together.

"I was just teasing you," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, whatever the reason, don't think I didn't notice you checking out my boobs."

"What? When!"

"This morning, before any of this even happened!" she said with a triumphant grin.

"That was not - I would never - "

"You so did. Just before we went into the lifts. Ooh, now there's a thought; what would've happened if we'd been in the same lift in that shower of disinfectant?"

"Rose. What is remotely arousing about disinfectant spray?"

She smirked at him, "I dunno, but I'm not gonna lie, I bet your suit looked nice and snug."

"See, you say things like that, and you don't look embarrassed; how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Say that stuff, flirt like that, and not get all flustered?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you sure Cassandra's not still in your head?"

"No, don't be daft!"

"Then why - "

"It's fun," she shrugged.

He looked at her for a few seconds, his eyes searching hers, before his shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing." He jumped to his feet. "Right! Think it's time for a cuppa. Want one?"

"No, wait a sec," she said, tugging on his sleeve as he moved away from her. He paused, and met her gaze again. She continued, "Do you like, want flirting advice or something?"

His eyes boggled at her. "What?"

"Flirting advice. You know, tips. On how to flirt."

"Rose, that is something I neither require nor desire."

"You sure?" She stood up, and moved over to him. "Cos I don't mind."

"Rose, you're being ridiculous. Firstly, I dislike this implication that I don't already know how to flirt. I'm nine hundred years old, for goodness' sake. Secondly, I don't need to flirt with anyone. Just because I don't flirt, doesn't mean I don't know how, but just because I know how, doesn't mean I'm gonna flirt. Okay?"

"Okay," she accepted easily. She walked past him but grabbed his hand on the way, tugging him after her as she made her way to the kitchen. "But don't come crying to me when you lose the battle."

"What battle?" he asked, his nose wrinkling, purposely walking slowly to annoy her as she dragged him along.

She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, fluttering her eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion. "The battle of seduction," she said in a low voice, and then burst out laughing at his widened eyes. "I'm kidding."

"Will you stop that?" he growled, and she was so surprised she whirled around, dropping his hand. "No, not that," he corrected, taking her hand back in his. He walked the few steps necessary to be standing very close to her, as close as they could be without touching in some way. "Rose. Do you actually think I'm foxy?" he asked seriously.

Rose bit the inside of her cheek. "Well, yeah. Like I said. It's not like I can't see what's right in front of me. I'm not you."

His forehead crinkled. "What do you mean by that?"

"I was joking around on purpose earlier because I know it's all innocent to you. You're all…oblivious. And that's okay. But - "

"Oblivious? How am I oblivious? Do I or do I not work out various mysteries on a daily basis, whilst saving the universe? Did I or did I not get through the entire collection of Agatha Christie novels and only get fooled twice? Well, once. A good once, granted, but only once."

"Oblivious about women," she clarified.

"Well, that's just absurd. I've travelled with women for centuries."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Yeah but like, relationships-wise?"

"Hmm?"

She rolled her eyes. "I can almost guarantee that at least some of them were sending out signals, Doctor, and I'm betting you didn't often realise."

"Signals for…?"

"Like, wanting you to make a move." He looked at her blankly. "On them. No?"

"Oh! Oh, no, no, no," he realised, shaking his head. "No, I wasn'tinvolved with them, if that's what you mean." He paused. "Wait." He peered at her closely. "Do _you _send me signals?"

Her cheeks flushed deeply. "What?"

He grinned and squeezed her hand. "So it's not just for fun."

"What?" she said again.

"Just now, you said you flirt because it's fun."

"Well, yeah, it is."

"But it's also you sending _signals_," he said, placing great emphasis on his new favourite word.

"I can't believe we're having this conversation," Rose muttered, averting her eyes.

"Oi, you started it!"

"Maybe we should just go grab that cup of tea - "

His free hand reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and she swallowed hard, watching him, her pulse rate starting to speed up. Then, abruptly, he grinned, and let go of her completely, shoving his hands in his pockets and whistling as he wandered down the hall. Rose gaped for a moment, then hurried after him. He didn't think he'd won, surely?

"Er, Doctor."

"Yeah?"

His voice was far too cheerful, his face far too smug.

"You're right, you don't need me to teach you how to flirt."

"Oh, I knew that, glad you agree."

"You might want to hone your skill a little, though. I do think you might be a bit rusty."

"I - what?"

"And I mean, you might need that skill one day. Could save a life," she shrugged casually. "I don't mind if you want to practice on me. I mean," she sighed heavily, a hand to her chest, and said with great levity, "I don't mind, if it's for the good of the universe. I'll put up with it. I'm nice like that."

The Doctor's mouth tipped into a knowing smile. "Right…"

They went into the kitchen and slipped into their routine of making tea together, then sat down with their mugs at the table.

"So I mean, we can at least establish before we turn in for the night that you definitely puckered up?" Rose asked, breaking the companionable silence.

He spluttered into his mug. "I - I don't 'pucker.' Time Lords just don't 'pucker.'"

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

"I'll prove you wrong at some point, just so you know."

"How could you possibly - "

"When we get to the bit where you ask me for kissing tips."

"I'm most certainly not going to get to that stage - "

"And then we'll like, have to practice and all that," she sighed heavily. "It'll be difficult, but we'll get through it."

"I think you're overestimating the amount that one of us will need to flirt or kiss our way out of trouble, Rose Tyler."

"I think you're _under_estimating just how long we can keep up this ruse."

He blinked at her, and saw her eyes widen almost imperceptibly at her own words. "Well, I think you're overestimating that. Vastly overestimating," he murmured, his voice low.

"You're just saying that 'cos you know you're gonna break first," she replied, her gaze locked on his.

"Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Thought I was no good at picking up signals?"

"You're not. I won't even be sending any signals and you'll still break first."

"Well that doesn't sound fun. I'd rather you wanted me to break."

"Oh, I do," she assured him. She took a quick sip of her tea, then licked her lips. "I really, really do."

Their chairs scraped backwards at the same time, and they eyed each other warily, reluctant to be the first to stand.

"Admit that you puckered up," she said, sounding determined.

"Perhaps I pursed my lips in outrage…"

"I don't think so."

He smiled slowly. "No, me neither." They were quiet for a few moments, and then he murmured, "I really am sorry, Rose. Cassandra's actions were wrong. Obviously. It was a huge violation of your mind and body and although I didn't know at the time, I took advantage of that by - by kissing back. Just a little."

"I'm sorry she forced herself on you like that. Even if you did kiss back a tiny bit. It was wrong of her."

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I mean, it wasn't our fault."

"No."

"But like, we forgive each other anyway, yeah?"

"Absolutely," he answered.

"So we're good?"

"We're really good."

"Mmhm." They remained at a stalemate, neither one of them making the first move. Then Rose huffed, "We're gonna stay like this forever if you don't just - "

"Why are you so bloody stubborn?" he asked, getting up and walking around the table to her, pulling her up and wrapping her in a loose hug, arms around her waist and their lower halves lightly touching.

"Why are _you?_" she countered, poking his chest.

He tilted his head. "You sure about this?"

"Doctor, I've wanted you to kiss me for ages."

"I'm still…this me, I'm still new, to you. Well, to both of us. What if this is gonna make things weird?"

"We're already weird," she said. "Well, you are."

"Oi!"

"I want us to kiss properly, okay? Without Cassandra being involved. Just us. A proper kiss. Where you pucker your lips, you're so eager. Can we do that?"

"We can definitely do that."

"So, Time Lords do pucker?"

"For you," he smirked. "This Time Lord does pucker, yes." He frowned. "We've said the word 'pucker' too many times. It's lost all meaning."

"I don't care."

"It sounds really silly, actually."

"I don't care," she repeated.

The Doctor grinned, his eyes sparkling down at her. "Okay, then." With one last, challenging look between them, they both leaned in, closed their eyes, accidentally bumped noses, and then kissed.


End file.
